The other creature was already bending over John and was examining him closely. It placed its hand over his chest and after a moment, recoiled, almost as if its hand had gotten too close to a flame. It growled softly.
In front of John was the food. There were eggs, Jell-O, toast, and water. The creature considered how it might use the food to choke John to death. It looked at the dull knife used to spread jelly, but it was plastic and useless. It looked over the instruments, the IV tubing, and the patient-controlled anesthesia-delivery system. It moved over to the bag and studied it. If it could manage to override the dosage-delivery valve, maybe the morphine John used sparingly would pour into his vein and do the job.
The first demon was watching the electrodes that were connected to John’s chest. The connection was low voltage.
“Difficult,” said the first demon.
“Yes,” said the second. “But we must follow Nabal’s orders.”
Both demons looked around. The second got an idea. “Can you pierce the veil?”
It looked at John. “His presence may prevent me.”
The second looked at John, growled, and then said, “You must try. You must cross. Use your talon to slice the line and blow air into it. If the air can be forced into his vein, he might have a fatal embolism.” The first agreed by nodding, then it moved over to the IV line. It would be very difficult.
The wall between the spiritual and material world is formidable. Very few things can pass between them, so manifesting a physical effect is extremely difficult. However, it can be done, in a manner the demons called “piercing the veil.” The veil was the barrier between the spirit world and the physical one. It was so difficult to manifest and affect the physical world that they preferred to interact with humans primarily through possession.
The first demon extended its sharpest claw and placed it just above the IV line going into John’s arm. It lowered its head and relaxed its wings. The second demon waited as the first concentrated. It strained for a full minute before it gave up and gurgled under its breath in displeasure.
“Together,” it said.
The second demon moved towards the line and extended its claw. Both creatures brought their weapons to bear on a single point. They concentrated, trying to feel the fabric of space, hoping to stretch it and break through. Their breathing slowed. Both closed their eyes. Then, at almost the same time, they opened them slightly, focusing on the tips of their claws on the IV line. They pressed slowly, very slowly, only to have their claws pass through the line without damaging it. The second demon growled.
Both glared at John. “If only we had a medium,” said the first. “Is there one in the hospital?”
The second stood upright and looked around through walls at the people on different floors, hoping to find a medium demon attached to a human. “I see none,” it said after a minute.
Directly affecting the physical world is very difficult, especially without the help of channelers, or those who have given themselves over to darkness. But they had to try. They always tried. Neither one of them wanted to face Nabal’s fury if they failed to carry out their superior’s orders.
Both looked around the room carefully to see if they had missed anything. There was no other demon to help them and no demon-possessed human nearby through whom they might possibly work their evil. “I fear that we must call Nabal,” said the first.
The second weighed the comment carefully and responded with a soft fearful gurgle. Nabal was a great force and it was best to stay out of its way. But the prince had commanded them to destroy John. He was vulnerable in the hospital and they wanted no more prayers coming from him. If Nabal were summoned and could not destroy John, his insane pride might bring the demons under punishment. However, if they did not call on Nabal and the prince found out later that they failed to inform it, they might suffer an even greater punishment. Both demons knew the risk was great, either way.
“I will call,” said the second. The first stepped back.
The creature opened its wings. It took a clawed hand and scratched its own chest until black blood ran, glistening against its leathery skin, the drops hissing and smoking like acid where they fell onto the floor. It dipped its finger into the blood and raised it high. “Prince Nabal. We, your slaves, beckon help to aid in the destruction of the enemy. Oh great and powerful prince, your presence is needed.”
Far away, Nabal turned its head to the south.
***
Mark was still recovering on the ground. Sotare knelt down beside him and placed his hand upon Mark’s chest. “It is over. Be calm. Rest.”
The fear inexplicably diminished. Mark looked into Sotare’s eyes and realized that the angel had the ability to calm him. It gave him pause enough to blink the tears out of his eyes and catch his breath. But the memory of the gruesome creature was horribly seared into his mind. Every recollection of it threatened to ratchet up his fear, but Sotare was there with his hand on Mark’s chest, calming him. Finally, after a couple minutes, he was able to get up. He put his hand out in front of him. It was shaking.
“What was that thing?” he said, his voice trembling slightly as he brushed the dirt from his pants. He didn’t look up to the treetops.
“That is Nabal, a prince who is a very powerful and evil force. It has wounded many angels, including Nomos.” Sotare looked at Mark’s face, analyzing his expression, trying to determine how he was handling the vision. He could tell that Mark would be all right, so he waited. Finally, after a single long and deep breath, Mark had regained his composure enough to ask a disturbing question. “How many more of those are there?”
“There are many more workers than princes and many more princes than principalities. The principalities number in the hundreds, the princes in the thousands, and workers are in the millions.”
Mark knew he would never again look at the sky or the clouds or the trees the same. He would always wonder what was behind them, in front of them, or in them. He would always wonder if he was being watched or if some demon-possessed person loitered nearby. It was not a particularly encouraging revelation.
“It seems that my quest for answers isn’t turning out how I thought it would,” said Mark.
“Sometimes, truth isn’t very polite.”
Mark started to walk towards the gazebo. “That thing was hideous.”
“Let me ask you something.”
Mark looked at Sotare.
“Do you really want truth, no matter what?”
Sotare’s question gave Mark pause. After a few moments, he processed a possible answer. But first he had to think about how much truth he really wanted, especially after what he just saw.
What was he really after? Mark wondered. He always wanted answers. But this? This was nothing like he expected.
What is truth? he asked himself. Do I really want truth, absolute truth?
Mark thought about it for a bit. He had been presented with an incredible opportunity to learn but he knew it would probably be frightening to take advantage of it. He looked Sotare in the eyes as he continued to think. He wanted truth but, at the same time, he just wanted to rest, to avoid the difficulties that his knowledge of the truth might bring.
“People like their self deception,” said Mark.
Sotare nodded.
Mark thought for a moment more and realized there was only one answer. “Yes,” he said. “I want the truth, no matter what.”
“Good.” Sotare motioned for them to walk into the gazebo. Mark led the way and sat down. Sotare sat down opposite him.
Mark thought for a moment, a bit surprised that he was as calm as he was so soon after the vision. “Kathy won’t believe any of this. She already thinks I’m losing it. And if I tell her that I spent my time in the garden, talking to an angel who showed me demons, she’ll really think I flipped, especially since neither of us has really believed in this God stuff before.”
“What do you believe now?”
The question penetrated hi
s heart more deeply than he expected. The memory of the grotesque prince was still clear in his mind. And even though he could no longer see Nabal, he knew it was watching him. If Nabal was real and Sotare was too, then there was a God and that meant there was a whole new world of truth to learn about.
“It’s all real. I definitely believe it now.” After a pause, Mark looked at Sotare warily. “What is to prevent the prince from killing me?”
“They have limits. It isn’t that easy for them to destroy human life in a direct physical sense,” said Sotare. “They cannot cross into this world except under the right circumstances.”
“What do you mean?”
“They are spirits. This world is physical.”
Mark narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened.
“They try different approaches. One way is through possession. If they can inhabit a human, then they can do a great deal in your world. But normally, they influence people more subtly using suggestion and manipulation of circumstances and use people under their control. Some of the more direct ways of influence are through cults, those involved with things as séances, channeling, trying to contact the dead, and drug use where altered states of consciousness are induced. This makes people much more susceptible.”
Mark was fixated on Sotare’s words.
“But most often, the demonic forces carefully and persistently work with average people, trying to influence them little by little. They don’t always want to kill them because they want people to get others to become deceived as well.”
“So, they are really active, then?”
“Yes,” Sotare answered. “Demonic forces are everywhere.”
“Does it happen very often, this demonic influence thing?”
“Quite often. People desperately want to feel good about themselves, even if it means believing a lie. They want to hear things that appeal to them. They want to gain influence and be in control. So the evil forces use people’s desires against them.”
“How? I mean, can they read people’s minds?”
“No, but as I said, they’re clever.”
Mark shook his head. “This is a lot to handle. I mean, it’s like we are puppets.”
“Not at all. You are free to make choices. It’s just that the choices you make aren’t informed and since one of the best tools of the enemy is to be unseen, you remain ignorant of his tactics and can be easily influenced.”
Mark sat back against the seat. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
“I guess ignorance is not bliss.”
“That’s right. You don’t have to know everything, just the right things.”
“And what are those right things?”
Sotare smiled, “You’ll find out later.”
“Figures,” said Mark. “Okay, so, apparently you want me to know about the spiritual world and how demons work. Why?”
“Because you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities of darkness and because it is best to know your enemy so you don’t fall into his traps.”
Mark paused for a moment and considered everything Sotare was saying as he concentrated on the angel’s face. Sotare could tell he was thinking, so he waited. Finally, Mark asked.
“Do people find God?”
“That is a very good question, Mark. It is the right question. But let me say that many think they find him when they are actually finding demonic imitations. That’s why we angels have an expression: ‘Humans enjoy their deception.’”
“That’s a rather dismal saying.”
“Yes, it is. Sorry, but people don’t always want truth. They often find ways to believe what makes them feel good, even if it is wrong.”
“Okay, so what about angels, do they manifest themselves to people as well?”
“Yes, we do. It’s obvious, since I’m speaking to you now.”
Mark smiled. “You got me on that one. But does it happen very much? I mean, have I met angels before without knowing it?”
“Yes, you have.”
Mark wasn’t as surprised as he thought he would be. “I have?”
“We are able to take on human form very easily. Sometimes you will meet strangers who might tell you something you need to hear, or help to change the course of your day, or prevent an accident or something like that.”
“How often does that happen?”
“Not very often, Mark. We aren’t going around manipulating people. That isn’t our intention. For the great majority of the time, you run your lives as you see fit, without our influence. But there are times when you meet angels and are completely unaware of it. In fact, last month you met a person in the parking lot of a store. He asked you for directions to get somewhere.”
“Yeah, I remember that. The guy spoke so calmly to me. I liked him. I even told Kathy about him.”
“That was an angel. He was sent to delay you so you wouldn’t be involved in a car accident.”
Mark cocked his head back. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Was I going to be killed or injured?”
“That, I don’t know.”
Mark shifted in his seat, punctuating his lack of comfort with the idea of potentially being injured.
“Was that angel you?”
“No.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Let’s just say that we know it when we need to.”
Mark half smiled as he shook his head. “Well, I guess I won’t look at people quite the same anymore.”
Sotare smiled. “Don’t worry yourself about it. There aren’t angels behind every tree.”
“Just in front of them,” said Mark as he looked at Sotare.
He nodded in agreement. “We angels work in the physical world as well as a spiritual one. It gets kind of complicated to explain, but when people pray, things happen, and because of their prayers, we are sent to fight against demonic forces in the spiritual realm.”
“I guess it’s like a giant war game, isn’t it?”
“In a sense, yes, it is,” responded Sotare.
“And the demonic forces are out to get us?”
“Yes.”
Mark finally had enough nerve to look nervously up at the treetops.
“Please, let me assure you that they cannot harm you, at least not easily. You see, even a prince or a principality cannot arbitrarily take a human life. If that were the case, there would be chaos everywhere. But the Almighty has set boundaries beyond which they cannot pass.”
“Wait a minute,” said Mark. “Earlier you told me that a demon was trying to get me to commit suicide but that it couldn’t do anything except that which was already in me, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And, the only reason it was able to work as well as it did was because I had already contemplated killing myself.”
Sotare nodded.
“But, I only thought about suicide once or twice in the past few weeks and each time I rejected it.”
“But it was there, wasn’t it?” asked Sotare.
Mark thought about it for a moment before admitting the truth. “Yes.”
Sotare’s smiled compassionately.
“But, how could a demon do that? How are they able to influence us?”
“They are spiritual beings and so are you. Although you are housed in flesh, your flesh is not all that you are. When you die, you continue. Your spirit continues apart from your body. It is in your spirit, that part of you that exists in both the physical and spiritual worlds, that the demons are able to influence you. Workers do this by exploring the mind and whispering in the ear. They strengthen in you what is already there, that part of you that is evil.”
Mark’s face went sober. “Are you saying I’m evil?”
“No. Saying you are evil and saying a part of you is evil is not the same thing. You humans are different from us. We angels do not have rebellion in our hearts. We do not have fallen natures. We hear directly from God and we carry out h
is will. But you do not. You see, God is perfect and pure. Therefore, that which is contrary to God is not perfect and it is not pure. Your desire to commit suicide was an evil desire, a desire that did not come from God and was contrary to God’s will.”
The words stung a bit but they were spoken with tenderness and without accusation. Mark recognized that Sotare was not condemning him, just speaking the truth.
“To murder one’s self in order to escape frustration, inconvenience, or difficulty, is an evil act because it is against God’s purpose and will. That is the only reason an evil creature could get as far as it could with you, because of the evil that was already in you.”
“That hurts.” Mark sat up straight. Even though he could plainly hear the gentleness in Sotare’s voice, he felt like a child who had just been reprimanded. “I guess you’re right about truth. It isn’t always easy.”
“Truth is what conforms to reality,” said Sotare. “Truth removes the lies.”
Mark shifted his head slightly.
“We humans are capable of great evil in the world, aren’t we?”
“Yes, you are,” responded Sotare. “But you are not as bad as you could be, and you are capable of great good as well.”
“That’s nice to hear.” Mark relaxed for a moment. Sotare’s words weren’t exactly comforting, but they rang true.
“I hope I have not upset you,” said Sotare softly.
Mark looked out of the gazebo at some random bushes. “I hate to admit it, but you haven’t said anything I don’t already know. We may think that we are pretty good, but I guess when I look deep down in my soul I find that I’m not as good as I thought I was.” He looked back at Sotare.
“True, and that is a good thing to know. Do you mind if I repeat something?”
Mark nodded.
“The standard of what is good is not found in humanity. It is found in God because God is absolute and unchanging. He is the standard by which good and bad are judged. Anything that deviates from him is not good. It would follow then that the average person’s sense of right and wrong is skewed because it is based on his own preferences or the particular moral direction that society happens to have at the time.”
The Influence (Supernatural Thriller) Page 8